Chapter 968 New Tank
After learning that Charles had flown to Belgium, Hindenburg hesitated.
"Fortress of Liege." Hindenburg found its location on the map. "Once Charles breaks through Fortress of Liege, he can directly threaten the Ruhr Industrial Zone and form a siege with the French army in Saarbrücken!"
There was fear in Hindenburg's eyes. If this was the case, Germany would completely lose the capital to fight the French army and would only have one option: surrender.
(The above picture shows the attack route of the Charles Force as believed by Hindenburg. It attacked the Ruhr, Germany's most important industrial area, from two directions and surrounded the German troops between the two lines.)
Wilhelm II was much calmer than Hindenburg.
"I heard that we have repaired the Liege Fortress," William II asked, "and strengthened its defenses, right?"
"You could say that," Hindenburg replied.
At the same time, he was startled. William II would ask this question, which must mean he believed that Charles could not break through the fortress of Liege.
Sure enough, William II continued:
"Just think about it, Marshal, how difficult it was for us to capture the Fortress of the Future."
"We had to bring in Big Bertha to capture it, and the only troops stationed there were poorly equipped Belgian troops."
"The people stationed there now are ours!"
Hindenburg retorted: "But the troops attacking the Liege Fortress are not the German troops, but Charles' troops!"
William II insisted on his own ideas:
"If it is Charles's First Armored Army in the direction of Liege Fortress, then I believe you are right. We should reinforce Liege immediately."
"But that's not it. The French Sixth Army is stationed in Belgium."
"I remember that it was a 'mutinous' army, wasn't it?"
As he spoke, William II turned his gaze to his trusted aide-de-camp.
The aide-de-camp hastily replied: "Yes, Your Majesty, it is now led by Major-General Christian."
William II spread his hands towards Hindenburg:
"That's what I mean. Wherever the First Armored Army is, that's where Charles' main attack direction will be. It's obvious!"
"Make your decision, Marshal, and don't hesitate any longer."
"Charles's goal is just to divide our army to defend and relieve the pressure on Saarbrücken."
Hindenburg hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said:
"No, Your Majesty, I do not think Ciel is bluffing."
"He didn't have to do this. We couldn't even encircle Saarbrücken. Charles's First Panzer Army could withdraw to the defense line at any time."
"They can also blow up all the factories in Saarbrücken before retreating."
William II asked in return: "Why doesn't he do this?"
"Because Charles is confident that he can defeat us." Hindenburg pointed to several locations on the map:
"The First Panzer Corps is in Saarbrücken, the Second Panzer Corps is in the Liege Fortress, and the Third Panzer Corps is on the east bank of the Rhine!"
"The combat effectiveness of each unit cannot be underestimated. We cannot just focus on the First Armored Army!"
"Char is strong enough to crush us, and we thought we could defeat him!"
William II stared at Hindenburg for a while, then suddenly laughed, his voice carrying a hint of sarcasm: "You are frightened by Charles, Marshal. The enemy is not as terrible as you think."
Hindenburg was speechless.
It was not because he believed what William II said, but because he saw hesitation, doubt and disappointment in the eyes of his staff, disappointment in Hindenburg.
In the face of war, people are more receptive to the exciting, inspirational and never-give-up spirit.
This seems to be correct, and this is indeed what propaganda should be given to soldiers.
However, at the command level, they may misjudge the enemy's strength and show unrealistic "bravery", resulting in the wrong launch of an attack when they should have been on the defensive.
This will lead to strategic errors, and a large number of soldiers will pay the price for the commander's hot-headed "spirit".
Hindenburg knew this, but found himself powerless to stop Wilhelm II.
Everyone was immersed in the recent series of victories achieved by William II and they habitually thought that they could still win by following William II this time.
William II looked at the eager eyes of his staff and nodded with satisfaction.
The reason why he resolutely chose to attack Saarbrücken with all his strength was not because he underestimated Charles, but because he knew one thing:
In the direction of Saarbrücken, the British and American troops will not support the French army, which is an isolated force.
…
Under the order of William II, the German army launched a battle to retake Saarbrücken.
There was no large-scale artillery preparation because Saarbrücken was a German city and the Germans had to consider the citizens trapped within.
From the very beginning, the German army planned to use infantry to enter the city and engage in street fighting with the French army.
They were not unprepared.
For some time, the German army had been sending people to infiltrate Saarbrücken and secretly transporting weapons into the city.
Once the battle begins, the citizens in the city will cooperate with the attacking forces to revolt, and the French troops stationed in the city will then be trapped inside and outside.
But they were soon disappointed.
The citizens had been cleared out in advance by the French army and were all concentrated near the City Hall in the city center and were under strict surveillance. They were strictly searched and controlled from above by the black muzzles of guns, so they had no conditions to cause chaos even if they wanted to.
As soon as the Germans entered the city they found themselves surrounded.
All the houses in the city were turned into firing points, with machine guns firing fiercely downwards and blocking the street entrances.
Then, French tanks "broke out" of the houses one after another, leading teams of French soldiers to launch a counterattack against the German army.
When the German soldiers saw the tank, they shouted in surprise: "New tank, it's Charles' new tank!"
What appeared before them was indeed a new tank.
The dedicated tank gun has been successfully developed. Charles upgraded the "Charr B2" tank, eliminating the 75mm gun in the hull and the 37mm gun on the turret, and integrating them into a 75MM dedicated gun.
The vacant space was used to install a directional machine gun and a coaxial machine gun on the hull and turret respectively.
This is the configuration that best suits modern tanks. The coordination between tank crew members is also closer and simpler, unlike before when the driver had to coordinate with the 75mm gun.
More importantly, the two machine guns on the tanks were extremely lethal to enemy infantry. As they poured out of Saarbrücken, they ruthlessly fired at the German troops in dense formations.
Bullets rained down on the German troops, mowing down the attacking Germans in droves.
In a moment, the no-man's land outside the city was filled with German corpses. Some of them were still alive and were trying to escape from the French fire, covering their wounds and leaving blood trails.
However, the tank caught up with a rumbling sound, and the corpses crushed by the tracks burst like blood bags, and the entire tank armor was dyed a shocking red.
The wounded screamed and struggled to escape, and some even shouted to surrender.
But the tank tracks still rolled over them amid their cries of grief...
(End of this chapter)
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